Integration Three - A Life Well-Lived Through a Pursuit of Joy


A Life Well-Lived Through a Pursuit of Joy - 

As I reflect on the life I would like to live, one concept keeps coming to mind: joy. I hope to one
day have a life full of joy. To me, joy is happiness and love earned through hard work and dedication. As
Father Michael Himes states in his article Three Key Questions, “Joy is the delight one takes in being
dissatisfied. It is the deep delight that one feels in being called to something still before you—to a new
decision and to a new way of living” (Moreau FYE Week Three). I want the rest of my life to be full of
challenges that push me to be the best version of myself possible. Through these challenges, I can find
meaning and purpose. I hope to find joy in my personal relationships, my work, my emotional and mental
health, and my personal passions over the course of my life.

I hope to find joy in the relationships I form with the people around me. When I first told people
that I had decided to attend Notre Dame, there was one common response I kept on hearing from past
alumni: “the people there are unlike any people you will ever meet.” I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical of
this claim. What is it about Notre Dame that attracts such amazing people that people keep telling me
about? I figured good people could be found at any university across the world. While this is indeed true,
within the first couple weeks of my freshman year, I was blown away by the types of people I was
meeting. I found myself surrounded by such kind, giving, and thoughtful people. For the first time in my
life, I was opening up to people in ways I had never imagined because they truly inspired me to be the
best version of myself. By the first month, I had already found an incredible group of people to call my
friends. The relationships we formed are what has given me so much joy and purpose at Notre Dame. I
noticed this especially during the Week 5 Discernment Activity. After talking with one of my close
friends here at Notre Dame, I was blown away by how well she knew me and how important her insight
was to me. Through the friendships and connections I have formed during my first year of Notre Dame, I
have realized that what brings my life meaning and purpose is my connection to my loved ones. To me, a
life well-lived is one shared with others. This is well-represented in the Pope’s TedTalk, “Why the only
future worth building includes everyone.” In the video, he explains, “First and foremost, I would love it if
this meeting could help to remind us that we all need each other, none of us is an island, an autonomous
and independent ‘I,’ separated from the other, and we can only build the future by standing together,
including everyone” (His Holiness Pope Francis - Moreau FYE Week Seven). I completely agree with this
sentiment. Seeking out the help of my friends shows my strengths, not my weaknesses. The more time I
spend with my friends and the more I lean on the people around me, the more capable and confident I
become. My friends uplift me and teach me how to be the best version of myself possible.

I also hope to discover joy through the work that I one day will take on. I have many academic
passions, ranging from gender studies to physics. Though I’m not currently sure which pathway I want to
start on, the article Navigating Your Career Journey - Moreau First Year Experience Course helped me
understand that fulfilling work should align with my skills, values, and personality (Moreau FYE Week
Four). As long as I center those topics during my discernment of what I want my future to look like, I can
form a fulfilling relationship with my work. Maybe I will become a physicist, or perhaps a gender studies
professor. No matter what, I will find work I believe in and dedicate myself to it fully, finding joy in my
work and practice.

I also have to remember the importance of taking care of my mental and emotional well-being. I
am currently working on emphasizing the importance of self-care in my life. I tend to push myself too
hard and force myself to work without breaks, leading to a vicious cycle of stress and burnout. As Pico
Iyer explains in their article Why We Need to Slow Down Our Lives, “Yet it’s precisely those who are

https://canvas.nd.edu/courses/35977/files/472856?module_item_id=146947
https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript
https://www.ted.com/talks/his_holiness_pope_francis_why_the_only_future_worth_building_includes_everyone/transcript
https://undergradcareers.nd.edu/navigating-your-career-journey---moreau/
https://ideas.ted.com/why-we-need-a-secular-sabbath/


busiest, I wanted to tell her, who most need to give themselves a break”(Moreau FYE Week One). My
current way of life isn’t healthy or sustainable. If I want to live a life full of joy, I need to change my
habits and treat myself with greater care. In a similar mindset, I want to ground the rest of my life in
gratitude. My senior year of high school was incredibly difficult for me. The state of my mental and
emotional being made it hard for me to see much of the positive in anything. I’ll admit, gratitude was far
from my mind. But during my first semester at Notre Dame, I started feeling better. Meeting new people
who saw the person I was and welcomed me with open arms helped me get through a difficult time. For
the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, at Notre Dame, I was truly happy with the person I was. So,
to honor the struggles I went through and all that I experienced, I began to practice small moments of
gratitude while I was walking to class everyday. Dr. JiHoon Kim has a somewhat similar perspective as
described in the short film 5 Minutes. “So as I began just thanking God and be more positive about the
things that I had already,” he recounts, “I was able to do things more gladly, and with gratitude and joy
and hope” (Moreau FYE Week Six). Though I am not religious, spending a few moments each day
reflecting on the struggles I have experienced and what I am grateful for has helped me feel calm and at
peace. It has filled me with love and hope.

Finally, I desire to find joy through my personal passions and convictions that I develop
throughout my life. As I grow older and gain more life experience, I hope to become more confident in
sharing and standing up for my opinions. Speaking my mind has been something I have struggled with.
Though I am very outgoing and confident with my friends, when I am among people I don’t know very
well, I may have difficulties in speaking up and using my voice. I have causes that I am very passionate
about, but I’m not always sure how to use my voice to help those causes or how I can make a difference. I
believe I can learn from the example of Father Ted Hesburgh in my pursuit of this goal. The documentary
“Hesburgh” addresses the impact of Father Ted’s life. “He complained that with every civil rights decision
he made, Father Hesburgh was always around the corner to say, you aren’t doing enough” (“Hesburgh” by
Jerry Barca and Christine O’Malley - Moreau FYE Week Two). Like Father Ted, I hope to develop my
personal confidence over my years at Notre Dame so that one day, I can use my voice to fight for change.
By advocating for the causes I believe in, I can work to make our world a more equitable place and find
joy in that pursuit.

https://grottonetwork.com/make-an-impact/transform/why-does-god-allow-suffering/?utm_source=moreau&utm_medium=class&utm_campaign=spring_2022
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